knitting

It’s soup season! I found a beautiful bunch of spinach at the farmers market and have wanted a big bowl of soup ever since. So last night I gave in and loved every spinach-y minute of it.

Creamy Spinach Soup

1 bunch spinach

2 medium potatoes, diced

1 small onion, diced

2 cups filter water

1 Tb vegan margarine

3 Tb flour

1 cup plain soy, rice, or almond milk

1 tsp fresh grated nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

In a covered sauce pan add the water, potatoes, and onion. Bring to a boil, then put heat on low and cook until potatoes are tender. (You could do this part in a slow cooker and finish the soup once you get home from work.)

In a non-stick pan over medium heat, melt the margarine, and add the flour little by little and whisk in. Keep stirring and then add the milk little by little and keep whisking. This will make a thick cream sauce.

Once potatoes are done, remove pan from heat and add spinach and nutmeg. Use immersion blender and puree.

Broccoli is one of my favorite veggies. I hated it as a kid, but the first time I had cheddar broccoli soup I was sold.

With my partner’s fear of the word vegan, I have to pretend much of what I cook isn’t vegan even if it is. But I also have to indulge her with dairy sometimes as a reward. This is the first time in her life that she’s even eating broccoli, asparagus, and cauliflower. She is the first person of Polish decent that I’ve ever heard of that doesn’t eat cabbage!

This recipe has milk and cheese in it. All you vegans know you can switch out and non-dairy milk and vegan cheese. I would try adding some pureed silken tofu to it too. It would give it some body and a nice creamy texture.

What’s your favorite quick soup? I’d love some links to new recipes!

Cheesy Broccoli Soup

1 head broccoli, chopped (or 3/4 bag frozen)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup filtered water

1 1/2 Tb. Butter or Earth Balance

2 cups organic low fat milk

1 cup organic Colby or mild cheddar cheese, shredded

1 tsp. oregano

pinch of basil

salt and pepper to taste (I use lots of pepper!)

Put water, garlic, broccoli in a sauce pan. Cover and cook over medium heat until broccoli turns bright green, but is still a little firm.

Add milk and puree with an immersion blender.

Next add butter, cheese, and spices and return to medium low heat until the cheese is melted and incorporates into the soup.

Serve with garlic bread or crackers. It tastes even better if you can curl up by the fire while you’re eating it!

Since I can’t use Mr. Linky on wordpress, you can email your veggie menus to me (kathyhester at gmail dot com) and I’ll post them on my site, or leave your menu and a link to it in the comments section.

In my world there is no such thing as too many chili recipes. I love a hearty stew once there’s a chill in the air. When I first became a vegetarian (about 25 years ago), I was just learning how to cook and found Fantastic Foods Vegetarian Chili mix and I was sold. A couple of cans of beans and a can of tomatoes and dinner for a week!

So it goes without saying, even though I am saying it, that I have a soft spot for chili with tvp (textured vegetable protein) in it. It’s not expensive or hard to work with. And believe it or not, this was the first time I ever made tvp chili from scratch. I reached for the box, looked at the price and realized it was too much money for spices and tvp. Especially when I have some of the best chili powder at home!

‘Meaty’ Slow Cooker Chili

4 cups veggie broth or filtered water

1 1/2 cups dried tvp (You can get it in the bulk aisle at Whole Foods)

If there is an interest I’ll work to make it happen. I’d love to have a veggie haven and see all the veggie menus without sorting through all the rest. I would want us to post on organizing junkie’s website as well – I am not trying to take anything away from her site.

I think it’s nice for the meat eaters to have a few veggie recipes to choose from and we can get ideas from the meat eaters. But sometimes I just want to copy someones week instead of looking and thinking of my own – some Mondays are just that hard!

I made another fall recipe for Slow Cooking Thursday. I’m working on another stew for next week – so stay tuned! Yesterday was World Vegetarian Day, so jump on the bandwagon, and make a veggie slow cooker meal this week!

Slow Cooker Stuffed Acorn Squash

1 Acorn Squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded

1 cup Rice, precooked (brown is good, wild rice would be nice too)

1 Tb. Dried Cranberries, chopped

1 Tb. Pecans, chopped

4 Meatless Sausage Links, cooked and chopped (you can use a veggie burger if you have one around instead)

1 Clove Garlic, minced

1 tsp. Rosemary, chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix everything (except for the squash silly!) in a bowl. You can add a few Tb. of water if the mixture is too dry.

Crumple some aluminum foil into the bottom of your slow cooker. This is to keep the acorn squash from tipping over and spilling out the stuffing. If your squash plays nice, you can skip this. I seem to get uneven ones, so I always do it.

Stuff the squash half with the mixture and set inside the slow cooker on top of the crumpled foil. Cook on low 8 – 10 hours.